Youngkin amendment would delay date to ban single-use plastics

By CHARLIE PAULLIN, Virginia Mercury

One of the 200-plus amendments Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed for the state budget would delay a ban on single use plastics beyond a timeframe set as part of a compromise the legislature made a few years ago. Amendment 148 “shifts the effective date of the prohibition on use of polystyrene containers from 2025 to 2028” for retail food establishments with 20 or more locations around the state, and from “2026 to 2030 for smaller restaurants.”

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Youngkin signs bills to help Virginia workers who mistakenly received unemployment benefits

By KATIE KING, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed several bills intended to help those who were inaccurately approved for unemployment benefits. One of the bills requires the Virginia Employment Commission to notify those who received nonfraudulent overpayments that they have 30 days to request a waiver. It directs the commission to issue a waiver if the applicant was not at fault and said demanding repayment would be contrary to “equity and good conscience” — meaning it would deprive the individual of the money needed for basic necessities, such as food, shelter, medicine and childcare.

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Youngkin explains skill games amendments, says 2020 law was inspiration

By TYLER ENGLANDER, WRIC-TV

Governor Glenn Youngkin is defending his decision to make big changes to a bill meant to legalize skill games in Virginia. Youngkin told 8News his changes include creating a more robust regulatory structure and more. “Putting in a more protective set of arrangements for public safety and for consumer protection,” Youngkin said. Youngkin’s changes include prohibiting skill games within 35 miles of a casino, and within 2,500 feet of a school or place of worship.

Virginia’s lab school committee speeds approval process

By ANNA BRYSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The Virginia Board of Education’s lab school committee voted on Thursday to alter the lab school application process by eliminating the standard second review of applications and instead recommending the approval of lab schools upon first review. The change in the lab school approval process comes as the future of lab school funding is in flux, and the lab school funding in the current budget can only be used until June 30.

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Virginia crime commission to review cases of former lab employee

By MEGAN PAULY, VPM

Language in the state budget proposal directs the Virginia State Crime Commission to inspect all the case files of former state forensic lab analyst Mary Jane Burton to determine the number of her cases that resulted in convictions, executions, exonerations and more. The commission’s then directed to report its findings back to lawmakers. A VPM podcast led to the state-mandated review. “Admissible: Shreds of Evidence” questioned the accuracy of Burton’s lab analyses, which led to a state review of allegations made in the show and a recommendation to alert all parties in criminal cases Burton was involved with.

Kaine calls for Google, Meta investigation related to Smith Mountain Lake murder videos

By EMMA COLEMAN, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google and Meta regarding the continued presence of a video depicting the murders of two Roanoke journalists. In August 2015, Alison Parker and Adam Ward with Roanoke’s WDBJ news channel were shot and killed by a former colleague during a live broadcast. A third person, Vicki Gardner, was seriously wounded during the attack, which the gunman recorded on video.

EPL to expand in Danville, investing about $37 million and adding 24 jobs

By JOHN R. CRANE, Danville Register & Bee

EPL America Inc. in Danville is expanding its manufacturing facility, investing $37.4 million and adding 24 new jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday. The company will upgrade its 200,000-square-foot facility and add new machinery. The additional equipment will allow EPL, formerly known as Essel Propack, to grow into the beauty and cosmetic markets and serve customers interested in replacing existing plastic products with laminate tubes, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

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Virginia farmers find new cage-free egg market

By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Last year, when Bobby Bowen, a young Southside Virginia farmer, told his wife that Tyson Foods was shutting its Glen Allen chicken processing plant, she started crying. And he figured it meant an end to his dreams of following his dad and grandfather working the family farm — a dream his dad had tried to discourage him from following. But now that he and other chicken farmers who had supplied Tyson have banded together in the new Central Virginia Poultry Cooperative, they've found a new and very different kind of poultry market: eggs from free range hens.

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Shared solar program approved for Appalachian Power customers

By LAURENCE HAMMACK, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

Customers of Appalachian Power Co. will be able to purchase solar power directly from independent providers, but it may not save them as much money as some had hoped. Nor will it happen anytime soon, following Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s approval this week of a law that sets the framework for the so-called shared solar program. Shared solar allows people who are unable to install solar panels because they live in apartments or homes that don’t get adequate sunlight – or who can’t afford such projects – to purchase some of their electricity from a solar farm operated by a private company.

60 years ago, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connected Hampton Roads

By CONNOR WORLEY, WHRO

Day after day of the same back-breaking, laborious routine: Load. Lift. Secure. Seal. Monotonous, but little-by-little the progress on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was visible. It’s formally known as the Lucius J. Kellam Jr. Bridge Tunnel; named after the man who spearheaded the project. It opened 60 years ago on April 15, 1964. Prior to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, travelers had two options to navigate between Tidewater Virginia and the Eastern Shore: take a ferry across the Chesapeake Bay or take a circuitous seven-hour drive up, over and down.

Judge rules lawsuit alleging UVa slow-walked sexual assault investigation can proceed

By EMILY HEMPHILL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

A federal judge has denied the University of Virginia’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the school and its Title IX office failed to appropriately address accusations that a high-ranking faculty member groomed, harassed and sexually assaulted an undergraduate student roughly five years ago. The student, who graduated in 2020, filed her suit against UVa last April. In it, she claims the school’s Title IX office neglected to provide a timely investigation after she accused a professor more than 40 years her senior of initiating an inappropriate, yearlong sexual relationship with her back in 2018 — a clear violation of UVa policy that “strictly prohibits” sexual or romantic relationships between professors and undergraduate students.

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Community college was the first in Virginia to offer a certification in cannabis

By CHARLOTTE MATHERLY, Cardinal News

Roanoke College is launching a cannabis studies program this fall. The University of Lynchburg has joined the bandwagon, too, recently unveiling a professional certification in cannabis health care and medicine. But neither of these schools was the first to do it in Virginia. Nate Miller, an adjunct professor of horticulture at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, claims his was the first higher-education cannabis certification in the commonwealth. He launched it in the fall of 2022.

Newport News School Board asks state Supreme Court to overturn ruling allowing teacher shot by 6-year-old to sue

By GAVIN STONE, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Attorneys representing the Newport News School Board and former superintendent George Parker asked the Virginia Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that allowed former Richneck Elementary School teacher Abigail Zwerner, who was shot during class by a 6-year-old student, to sue for damages. Additionally, the school board and Parker filed a motion asking the circuit court to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming they are immune from liability in the shooting. A Newport News Circuit Court judge ruled in November that Zwerner was not limited to filing a Worker’s Compensation claim and could instead sue for liability.

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Judge from Richmond high school graduation shooting trial issues gag order

By SAMUEL B. PARKER, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The judge who presided over the Huguenot High School graduation shooting trial issued a gag order on Tuesday forbidding prosecution and defense attorneys from speaking to the media as they prepare their arguments on a recently filed motion to withdraw Amari Pollard’s guilty plea. Pollard in February pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges in the June 6 shooting of Shawn Jackson outside the Altria Theater after Judge W. Reilly Marchant ruled that Pollard’s actions did not meet the legal threshold for self-defense.

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Warming water temperatures in Virginia are changing aquatic life as we know it

By EVAN VISCONTI, Virginia Mercury

Throughout Virginia, scientists are documenting significant warming of water temperatures, from inland freshwater streams and rivers to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, which experts say has “huge cascading effects on ecosystems.” “Even though it might not seem like a big deal, sustained higher temperatures can really damage the intricate balance of species that call those water bodies home,” said Jeremy Hoffman, director of Climate Justice and Impact at Groundwork USA and affiliate faculty in the Department of Geography, Environment and Sustainability at the University of Richmond.

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Hampton Roads firefighters suing over allegedly ‘toxic’ protective gear

By STEPHANIE JOHNSON, WVEC-TV

... Firefighters from Hampton Roads are suing 26 companies and manufacturers for a total of $1.8 billion for exposing them to polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in their protective gear. “It can cause, as testing has revealed, different types of cancer and other negative health effects, and some studies can have some effects on your own DNA,” said lawyer Kevin Binizan.

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Waynesboro man arrested, charged with violence against officers in Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots

By PATRICK HITE, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)

A Waynesboro man was charged for his role in the breach of the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Darl McDorman, 53, was arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers, for his participation in an attack on the Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, per a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia.

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Virginia man arrested for allegedly assaulting officers during Jan. 6 Capitol riot

By WILL VITKA, WTOP

A Virginia man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Darl McDorman, 53, of Waynesboro, is accused of assaulting law enforcement officers during the attempted insurrection, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. news release. He’s charged with “felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon,” the government said.

Law firm representing Ziegler says Loudoun County Public Schools owes $617K in legal fees

By EVAN GOODENOW, Loudoun Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

The law firm representing former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler says the school division stiffed them on legal fees incurred for representing Ziegler. The School Board hired the firm, Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, in April 2022 to represent "any school official in any legal proceeding," according to the suit, which was filed on April 10 in Loudoun Circuit Court. But the firm says the school division has never paid its bills for those services and has an outstanding balance of $617,000.

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Rural Loudoun broadband project delayed by 15 months

By JESS KIRBY, Loudoun Times (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)

For months, the western Loudoun subsidized fiber-optic broadband project has lagged behind its targeted “milestones,” but All Points Broadband has insisted the project would still finish on time. Now, officials say it won’t be complete until October 2025 — a delay of more than a year. Last week, the state approved a 15-month extension of the project, which aims to bring high-speed internet to more than 8,600 homes and businesses in rural Loudoun County using 620 miles of fiber-optic cable.

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Another King George parcel eyed for data centers

By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)

A Northern Virginia company looking to develop a 500-acre data center campus near the Navy base in Dahlgren is seeking community feedback on the project before the zoning case even hits the county. Based in Chantilly, Potomac Development Group will hold an informational session about the “Dahlgren West” project on Wednesday … The developer is working with the family of the late Ed Veazey to get the needed zoning, prepare the site and then turn it over to one or more end-users, said Nick Over, one of the company’s principals. Currently, the property is a mix of commercial, industrial and residential zoning.

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Richmond School Board member Jonathan Young resigns after ‘awkward’ interaction with student

By ANNA BRYSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Richmond School Board member Jonathan Young, who represents the 4th District, said Friday night that he is stepping down from his role following accusations that he acted inappropriately toward a student on a field trip. Young’s resignation comes days after news broke that an outside attorney conducted an investigation into his interactions with a 15-year-old girl while on a field trip in December, which was first reported by WTVR-TV.

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622-acre project could bring up to 13 more data centers to Henrico

By SEAN JONES, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

A developer’s plan to rezone 622 acres for an eastern Henrico County technology park was given its first stamp of approval by the county Planning Commission. Developer Hourigan is pushing the project as an extension to the nearby White Oak Technology Park, with a plan to have co-locating data centers. ... Co-location data center facilities include server space used by multiple companies, government agencies and other entities, as opposed to enterprise data centers like those for Meta and Amazon, which are entirely built and managed by one company. Environmentalists and local historians opposed the tech park extension.

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Residential, retail and a new hotel: Norfolk targets MacArthur Center for a mixed-use development

By RYAN MURPHY, WHRO

Norfolk wants to redevelop MacArthur Center into a major mixed-use development anchored by a 400-room military-themed hotel. Mayor Kenny Alexander said during his State of the City the redeveloped mall would include 518,000 square feet of high-rise residential space, including rentals and units to own. “The future of MacArthur Mall demands a bold vision that celebrates our culture, reconnects our city, attracts tourists and ensures economic vitality,” Alexander said in his address to the region’s civic and business leaders.

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Chesapeake will now require lobbying disclosures on planning applications

By NATALIE ANDERSON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Planning and land use applications in Chesapeake will begin to include lobbying disclosures in May. City Council member Robert Ike first made the disclosure request in January and council approved the new process in March. Ike proposed the city begin requiring the disclosure of all companies, firms and individuals hired to lobby City Council and the Planning Commission on land use matters such as rezoning requests, special use permits and planned unit developments.

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Albemarle County teachers win collective bargaining rights

By EMILY HEMPHILL, Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

The Albemarle County School Board unanimously passed a resolution Thursday night granting 2,600 of the school division’s teachers, faculty and staff the right to collective bargaining. Albemarle County Public Schools joins eight other Virginia school divisions, including its next-door neighbor Charlottesville City Schools, that have adopted collective bargaining resolutions since 2021, when the General Assembly reversed the Virginia Supreme Court decision that outlawed the public sector unions in 1977.

Governor, lawmakers finally move to the middle ground on budget

Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The notion that a budget is a reflection of values is oft repeated around statehouse halls each year as executive and legislative branches spar over what to fund and what to exclude, what to support and what to discard, while crafting their spending plans. That’s certainly true here as Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the General Assembly have, over five months, offered starkly different visions for the commonwealth’s future. That back and forth, while unnecessarily combative, is likely to land with a consensus budget that makes modest strides, not bold leaps, toward meeting the commonwealth’s priorities.

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In Stoney’s latest stadium bid, will taxpayers get caught looking?

Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

The warm fuzzies were in full force last week — from the shade-wearing crowds and eclipse-themed picnics on Monday afternoon to the warm, southwesterly breeze blanketing The Diamond on Tuesday for the Flying Squirrels’ home opener. For a moment, at least, the city’s esprit de corps was almost enough to block out the daily political drama: Gaza, Trump-Biden, abortion bans, congressional histrionics, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s seemingly endless vetoes.

Yancey: Youngkin’s ‘skill’ game amendments make the games virtually impossible

By DWAYNE YANCEY, Cardinal News

When Gov. Glenn Youngkin sent the bill legalizing so-called electronic skill games back to the General Assembly with amendments, one of those amendments directed that 5% of the tax revenue from the games go toward improving Interstate 81 — a wonderful talking point on the western side of the state, where complaining about I-81 is more common than complaining about the weather. However, other amendments that the governor added would effectively ban the games from almost everywhere in Virginia, rendering that dedicated I-81 revenue stream almost meaningless.

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Williams: Demolition or preservation? VUU needs to build trust

By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

At a recent rally to preserve a Black history site entrusted upon Virginia Union University, historian Selden Richardson used the school’s own words as an argument against the demolition of old Community Hospital. “The first 10 words of the mission statement of Virginia Union University are these: Virginia Union University is nurtured by its African American heritage,” he said during the rally at the hospital building on Overbrook Road.

Leighty: To leave a legacy of consequence, Youngkin must learn to adapt

By BILL LEIGHTY, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 7 articles a month)

Time is a Virginia governor’s most valuable resource. From the moment a newly elected Virginia governor takes the oath of office, he or she has only 1,461 days remaining in office. As Gov. Glenn Youngkin finishes his second legislative session, he has now completed over 56% of his governorship and two-thirds of his opportunity to effectuate legislative initiatives. Virginia governors must learn quickly and “hit the ground running.” In my nearly five decades of serving the people of Virginia in various capacities in the executive branch, legislative branch and an independent agency, I had the privilege of observing Virginia’s governing processes closely, often from a front-row seat.

Leighty is the author of “Capitol Secrets: Leadership Wisdom from a Life of Public Service” and served as chief of staff to former Govs. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

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Higgins: Meeting clean energy goals requires strong legislation

By VICTORIA HIGGINS, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

This legislative session, Virginia came close to adopting strong renewable energy policy that put the Old Dominion on the right track for meeting state climate goals. While this forward progress was put on hold, the work state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg and the Senate Local Government Committee put into Senate Bill 697 does not go unnoticed and, most importantly, shouldn’t end here. In 2020, Virginia adopted the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), setting a state-mandated goal of 100% clean energy by 2045. Until now, no significant legislation has been proposed to ensure that Virginia remains on track to achieve this goal.

Higgins of Richmond is the Virginia director for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

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Main: Now what the heck do we do about data centers?

By IVY MAIN, published in Daily Progress (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)

Virginia’s 2024 legislative session wrapped up last month without any action to avert the energy crisis that is hurtling towards us. Crisis is not too strong a word to describe the unchecked proliferation of power-hungry data centers in Northern Virginia and around the state. Virginia utilities do not have the energy or transmission capacity to handle the enormous increases in energy consumption. Dominion Energy projects a doubling of CO2 and a new fossil fuel buildout. Drinking water sources are imperiled.

Main is a lawyer and a longtime volunteer with the Sierra Club’s Virginia chapter.

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Lohr: Virginia is cultivating indoor agriculture to forge a brighter future

By MATTHEW LOHR, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

Virginia has long understood the importance of nurturing promising new industries, and indoor agriculture is no exception. Despite some recent skepticism about the industry’s relevance, we in Virginia see it differently. Here, indoor agriculture represents more than just a tech trend; it signifies a source of skilled horticultural and manufacturing jobs, rural development, and cutting-edge technology that can complement outdoor agriculture, providing fresh, locally grown produce. Similar to other growing industries, indoor agriculture holds immense potential.

Lohr is the Virginia secretary of agriculture and forestry.

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Cencich: Youngkin amendments seek to bring clarity to ‘skill games’

By JOHN R. CENCICH, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

On Monday, the clock was ticking, and with just three minutes before the stroke of midnight, the governor issued a stay of execution on the long-awaited, so-called “skill games” bill. Rather than dispatching it to its death through his executive veto power, he gave it an 11th-hour reprieve by sending it back to the General Assembly with amendments. The bill, initially framed under a benignly sounding title, now calls a plum a plum. These are indeed electronic gaming devices. They are no longer veiled with euphemistic terms such as “skill games” or “mom and pop” shops.

Cencich of Luray is a professor and criminologist at Pennsylvania Western University, an adjunct professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh and political science instructor at James Madison University.